A CHARITY that operates two landmark tourist attractions in Dundee has confirmed that jobs are set to be cut due to declining visitor numbers and rising costs.
Dundee Heritage Trust, a charity responsible for the day-to-day running of Discovery Point and Verdant Works in the city, has launched a redundancy consultation process with staff, according to The Courier.
The organisation said the job cuts are part of plans to develop a “sustainable future” for the charity and are in response to growing financial pressures caused by a “challenging economic climate”.
Dundee Heritage Trust has not disclosed how many jobs are at risk at each of the historical attractions due to the consultation still being “ongoing”.
A spokesperson for the organisation added that the RRS Discovery and Verdant Works will continue to operate as normal.
The two museums bring in around 80,000 people each year, according to the trust, and help tell the city’s industrial and engineering history.
A spokesperson for Dundee Heritage Trust told The Courier: “In terms of staffing, we are currently going through a consultation process as we respond to a combination of declining visitor numbers, rising costs and the wider challenging economic climate.
“As a charity looking after two collections recognised as of national significance in Scotland, we don’t receive regular public funding, so we must make sure the organisation is sustainable for the future.
“As the consultation is still ongoing, we’re not able to comment on potential staffing changes, numbers or locations at this stage.
“RRS Discovery and Verdant Works will continue to operate as usual, with the current consultation coming as part of plans and developments for a sustainable future for the charity, its recognised collections and its attractions.”
Verdant Works is housed inside a historic old mill and tells the story of how Dundee became an economic powerhouse in the 19th and early 20th centuries due to its world-leading textile trade.
The RRS Discovery, a barque-rigged auxiliary steamship built in Dundee, has served as a museum since the 1980s, after the research ship spent decades sailing on voyages all over the globe.
The ship is currently undergoing a multi-million-pound conservation project with its stern, keel blocks and cradle system all being either repaired or replaced.
